This invention relates in general to housing latches, and more specifically to an orthogonal assembly latch.
Many electronic devices have utilized housings with front and back housing halves which when assembled protect the internal components. The most common method to assemble and secure two housing halves was with screws, or a combination of screws and snaps. Extra molded parts, such as belly bands, have also been used to keep the housing halves together, and while such extra parts have generally added to the cosmetic appearance of the electronic device when completely assembled, this has been at the expense of both the cost and complexity of assembly of the electronic device. Many electronic devices have utilized latches which were used to secure the housing halves without the use of screws. Latches, as used in prior art electronic devices, generally made it very hard to disassemble the housing without permanently damaging the housing halves or the latches, and therefor requiring the housing halves to be replaced when the electronic device was opened, such as for service.
What is needed is a method for assembling a housing for an electronic device which does not use screws to secure the housing halves together and which provides the same integrity as provided by screws. What is also needed is a method for assembling a housing which provides relatively easy disassembly of the housing after the housing is assembled.